Freeport firefighters free man stuck in mud
Firefighters use ladders and straps to free a land surveyor who was waist-high in mud just off Interstate 295 Southbound exit 22 in Freeport on Sunday.
https://www.pressherald.com/2019/10/29/freeport-firefighters-free-man-stuck-in-mud/
Like what we do here? Donate
Need a new or refreshed website? Five Point Web Solutions
Looking for a web host? Website Hosting & Management
Could have snaked a hose next to his feet and put a little water pressure under him...would have made freeing him much easier. See rescue techniques from Turnagain Arm in AK.
Had a similar incident, but luckily we had two people. One of the dangers of single man crews is the whole proverb about falling alone.
(Ecclesiastes 4:10) "But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."
That there's a good story to tell.?ÿ I bet he's glad he made it out.?ÿ Had he not, the coyotes would have picked his bones clean...not a good way to go.
Surveying on Sunday morning? Alone? I don't understand people. This man needs to find a church and give thanks for the grace of others.?ÿ
Yes; yes I have...
I learnt the hard way many years ago, whilst surveying clay quarries.
In those circumstances I now always take a short plank (or a high density foam insulation board stuck onto 1/4" ply).
Rules are:
0) DON'T go anywhere stupid, but when you do:
1) Keep moving, never stand still
2) If in doubt, test each step
3) At first signs of being stuck get the board down and kneel on it.
4) You can usually work back the way you came - kneeling, move board, kneel on board again, repeat until safe.
Some clays and lots of ashes are firm to walk on until they get vibrated, Then whoops!
?ÿ
Despite seeing the rescuers in short sleeves I notice the surveyor is wearing a heavy coat.?ÿ Being surrounded by cold mud would drain a person's energy fairly soon.?ÿ That is not an experience I wish to try.
When I purchased a 4-wheel drive pickup for the very first time the second time I got it stuck was in dry silt at the edge of a pond.?ÿ It was a narrow area where the pond would overflow from time to time.?ÿ There was no support by the silt.?ÿ As soon as the front tires hit it, the truck went down as far as it could.?ÿ The rear tires did not enough traction to effectively pull the front end straight up over a foot.?ÿ Mid-July as I recall.?ÿ Embarrassing.
Been stuck up above my knees before in clay. Took forever to get out as it causes a suction that increases the more you ate able to pull yourself out.
I carry a staff now to test the ground ahead.
He is a very lucky man.
After the flood of 93 we were cranking out e-certs as fast as possible. Some jobs we could get 3 houses on one bench run. At one site I could see 6 houses and 2 benches if I just walked out on a 'dirt' field.
About 50 feet from the road I broke through the crust. I was up to my waist before I realized my error. It took 15 minutes to get a shovel to me. The pressure bruised me from the hips down and put me in bed for a few days.
All it took was one sidestep for my rodman to suddenly be waste deep with one leg while the other was out at practically a right angle from his body.?ÿ It was a narrow ditch filled with sludge/silt that had caked over to appear solid on that cold November day.?ÿ Fortunately he was young and we were close enough to the survey chariot to have a warm ride home for him with his jeans tossed into the truck bed.?ÿ No more surveying that day.
All it took was one sidestep for my rodman to suddenly be waste deep
Since the ditch wasn't filled with waste, you must mean waist.
As Senior Spelling Police, you surely agree?
The Pedantic Police need to be involved as well.
Since the content of the ditch was not a necessary part of its normal operation then surely it was waste.?ÿ Hence the rodman was waist deep in waste.
When I purchased a 4-wheel drive pickup for the very first time the second time I got it stuck was in dry silt at the edge of a pond.?ÿ It was a narrow area where the pond would overflow from time to time.?ÿ There was no support by the silt.?ÿ As soon as the front tires hit it, the truck went down as far as it could.?ÿ The rear tires did not enough traction to effectively pull the front end straight up over a foot.?ÿ Mid-July as I recall.?ÿ Embarrassing.
A little mood music for next time that happens......
?ÿ
Thanks, buddy. Within the next hour I may resemble that video. We have had far too much precipitation for over a year. This morning is the first time for this year that the precipitation is white. It will be gone by mid-afternoon, though. 24 F right now. Need to put out a few big round bales of hay and deposit a little feed in some troughs before the top 1/16th inch thaws out.
Very perceptive. We were a bit concerned that he might turn orange or glow in the dark. Decades earlier the immediate upland area had been the site of what was simply called "the wax plant". So he was waist deep in wax waste.
Dagnabit, you are sharp this morning. Don't cut yourself by accident.
See the note below to Chris Mills.
I got stuck once, maybe up above my knees a little bit.?ÿ The problem is anyone trying to help you off to the side just pulls sideways and it feels like it will break you in half.?ÿ I flopped down on my belly and was able to use that to lever myself out.?ÿ It pretty much took a lot of energy to do that, at the time I was only 30 years old also.
...It pretty much took a lot of energy to do that, at the time I was only 30 years old also.
I wasn't stuck in the mud, but about 2 years ago I attempted to climb over a locked shiny new 60" pipe stock gate with muddy boots. As I threw one leg over the top I slipped and was hanging upside down with one leg was stuck between to top 2 rails and my shoulders against the gate.?ÿ I could tell unconsciousness was only a few minutes away...
I was able to quickly do ONE very difficult sit-up and grab the fence to upright and free myself.?ÿ
While I do have a "six-pack", it was home in the fridge.?ÿ That was the most intense sit-up I have ever done.?ÿ It felt like I was going to pop a gut string or a vein in my head.?ÿ I don't ever want to do that again.
PS - I did continue on and finish the job.?ÿ My gut hurt for a week after that.?ÿ Working alone sometimes presents unseen challenges.
I had barely begun surveying (and yes, I was alone) when I came across this retention basin, and since I had my camera with me I took a picture of the neat geometric patterns in the dried mud. Pretty, isn't it.
A few minutes later I had this sinking feeling as I broke through the crust into the deep layer of gloppy mud underneath. My survival training kicked in and I threw myself forward so I could crawl out lugging the big bundle of laths and hammer with me. Then I had to go back for the GPS rover, and again crawl out.
I completed the survey while lugging a thick layer of mud around the site with me, all the while muttering to myself. Vicki hosed off the clothes when I got home; the old shoes we tossed in the garbage.
?ÿ